DJ Clark Kent, a Brooklyn producer who worked with the greats of hip-hop, has died.
His family announced his death Friday.
“It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of the beloved Rodolfo A. Franklin, known to the world as DJ Clark Kent,” they said in a statement shared on Instagram. “Clark passed away Thursday evening surrounded by his devoted wife Kesha, daughter Kabriah and son Antonio. Clark quietly and valiantly fought a three year battle with colon cancer, while continuing to share his gifts with the world. The family is grateful for everyone’s love, support and prayers during this time and ask for privacy as they process this immense loss.”
Kent, 58, launched his career as a DJ in the ’80s, when he became the DJ for Brooklyn rapper Dana Dane. He started producing hip-hop hits in the ’90s.
He worked with The Notorious B.I.G. and Junior M.A.F.I.A. — including Lil’ Kim, in her debut — on “Player’s Anthem,” which reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1995.
Kent again teamed with Biggie on “Brooklyn’s Finest” from Jay-Z’s 1996 debut album “Reasonable Doubt,” along with the album songs “Cashmere Thoughts” and “Coming of Age.”
In the ’90s, he also produced songs like “Dreadful Day” (1996) for Trenton’s Poor Righteous Teachers; a remix of “Ready or Not” (1996) for South Orange’s Fugees; “Sky’s the Limit” (1997) from the Notorious B.I.G. album “Life After Death”; and “Come On” (1999) from Biggie’s third album “Born Again.”
Kent went to No. 2 on the Billboard chart with Mariah Carey’s “Loverboy” (2001).
The producer, a cousin of the rapper Foxy Brown, also worked with artists including Rakim, East Orange’s Queen Latifah, Ice Cube, Slick Rick, Kanye West, Newark’s Redman, Rick Ross and 50 Cent.
He is credited with discovering Shyne, a Brooklyn rapper noted for his voice’s similarity to Biggie’s.
“Clark was a teacher of hip-hop and a dope human being!” Wise Intelligent, a former member of Poor Righteous Teachers, said on Instagram.
“The first man that believed in my voice,” said hip-hop legend MC Lyte, responding to the announcement of Kent’s death. She and many others knew him as Tony.
“The first recording I ever did was with Tony in his basement in Brooklyn (”I Cram to Understand U”) … he believed my me and my rhyme. Thank you Tony. Your heart will forever be missed.”
“A stand up guy who left a deep & resonating mark on the culture,” said another legend, Fab 5 Freddy. “I was honored to put him in New Jack City as a DJ in the early club scene and that’s how we became friends as he’d always thank me for that. Salute to a great one, DJ Clark Kent.”
“Clark will forever be the culture,” Questlove said.
Thank you for reading. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.
Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
